Ending ‘Pension Spiking’ in the City of Phoenix

The City of Phoenix’s public retirement systems are sinking further into the red, but that hasn’t stopped the city and Mayor Stanton from encouraging senior police officers to spike their pensions in violation of state law.

Phoenix’s contract with public safety workers permits employees to “cash in” unused sick leave, vacation leave, compensatory time, and other fringe benefits as salary in the years preceding retirement, thus inflating or “spiking” final salary for pension calculation purposes.

In May 2013, the Goldwater Institute sent a letter to the City of Phoenix asking it to end its illegal policy of allowing senior police personnel to increase the amount of their pensions by cashing in unused sick leave, vacation, and other benefits. This practice of “pension spiking” violates state law. The city’s refusal to end this policy is an affront to the rule of law and the Goldwater Institute is representing Phoenix taxpayers to stop this abusive practice.